Religion ...or Relationship...

For the past few years I have debated whether believing in God is really a Religion. People ask me all the time oh your Religious? At times I don't know what to answer. I always say to myself do I really have a Religion. I did some soul searching for the past few months recently and have found that I do NOT have a Religion but rather a Relationship. Let me help you understand a little bit. We have many Religions in the world but one of the most popular ones is Catholic. Let me help you understand the difference. I consider myself non- denominational. Meaning that I do not believe in rules or following some sort of "way" into heaven. Catholic's have some beliefs similar to mine. We both believe in God, we both believe Jesus is real and we both believe in a relationship and in the Bible. However, there are things we don't believe the same. I don't believe that I have go to confession . I believe in personally talking to God about my problems...not a priest behind a screen. I also don't believe in how the church services are done and all of the rituals that follow. I don't believe in baptizing children as infants I believe in baby dedications..meaning bringing up a baby to a pastor during the church service and having the baby prayed for. I believe Baptism's should be a personal choice and when the person should feel it's time when there salvation is secure. I don't believe my child has to go through CCD to learn all about God and who he is.. For me personally I believe all of those things not just with the Catholic religion but with every other religion it leaves you wanting more or the hunger for more in the world. For me a relationship is about loving God and praying to him, seeking him, trusting him. Loving others and not having to go to church every Sunday. Not having to go to certain classes or get confirmed. I believe to be confirmed to Jesus not in a church. There are differences. No I do not believe that Catholic's are terrible people and no I am not telling anyone there religion is bad or they shouldn't believe because I think everyone should be entitled to believe in what they want and what keeps them happy. All I know is Religion does nothing for me. I think once people grow up in a Religion and find out they hate church and what goes on inside of it they begin to think all churches are like that. But they are not, you have to find one that works for you and what you like. Regardless of who has a Religion and who doesn't it shouldn't divide us as a nation. We are all humans and regardless of if you have a Religion or you don't have one. What matters in this life is how you help people, how you serve, respect and treat people. Who you carry yourself as a person. Regardless of what Religion you are, what I care about is how nice you treat me. You treat me nice with love and respect I will do the same for you. That's the beauty of growing up in America. You can be and believe in anything you want to. God bless you all!